Page 216 - THE HOUND OF BASKERVILLE
P. 216

The Hound of the Baskervilles


                                     ‘He shall. I will see to that. Uncle and nephew have
                                  been murdered—the one frightened to death by the very
                                  sight of a beast which he thought to be supernatural, the
                                  other driven to his end in his wild flight to escape from it.

                                  But now we have to prove the connection between the
                                  man and the beast. Save from what we heard, we cannot
                                  even swear to the existence of the latter, since Sir Henry
                                  has evidently died from the fall. But, by heavens, cunning
                                  as he is, the fellow shall be in my power before another
                                  day is past!’
                                     We stood with bitter hearts on either side of the
                                  mangled body, overwhelmed by this sudden and
                                  irrevocable disaster which had brought all our long and
                                  weary labours to so piteous an end. Then, as the moon
                                  rose we climbed to the top of the rocks over which our
                                  poor friend had fallen, and from the summit we gazed out
                                  over the shadowy moor, half silver and half gloom. Far
                                  away, miles off, in the direction of Grimpen, a single
                                  steady yellow light was shining. It could only come from
                                  the lonely abode of the Stapletons. With a bitter curse I
                                  shook my fist at it as I gazed.
                                     ‘Why should we not seize him at once?’
                                     ‘Our case is not complete. The fellow is wary and
                                  cunning to the last degree. It is not what we know, but



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